BJP-Sikkim begins election campaign

GANGTOK, 21 Mar: The state Bharatiya Janata Party has stated that it will declare the names of all its 32 candidates for the upcoming general elections in the next two days.

After the change in the party leadership recently, the state BJP held its first press conference here at a local hotel which was addressed by its new president Palden Wangchuk Khangserpa, general secretary GD Agarwal and BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate, NB Khatiwara.

It was stated that the party is confident that the BJP will form the government at the centre and voting for a BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha would be the best way for the Sikkimese to get their voice heard at the national level. The party also expressed confidence that the BJP candidate in Darjeeling, SS Alhuwalia will also win the upcoming elections from the West Bengal Hills and this will further strengthen the representation of the hills in New Delhi.

The state BJP went on to add that none of the MPs from Sikkim had delivered in the past except DK Bhandari who had worked pro-actively to include Nepali language in the eighth schedule of the Constitution of India.

“We have one MP who represents everyone irrespective of their political affiliation in the state. The MP represents the entire state however this is not the case now. An MP should represent the state and not a particular political party,” stated Mr. Khatiwara, the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate today.

He added that if he wins the Lok Sabha elections his first priority would be to “undo the wrongs” and restore the guarantees and privileges of the people that have been left out by the previous MPs.

Mr Khatiwara went on to state, “I am shocked at how the leaders of the SDF and SKM are reacting to each other in their political speeches.”